Constructing the guru: ritual authority and architectural space in medieval India

While the iconography of the door frame implies that Rooms 14 and 15 may have been used in ways similar to Rooms 6 through 8, the format of the spaces suggests a very different function. Both Rooms 6 and 8 are approximately square in shape, as would be expected of the mandapa and sanctum of a shrine. By contrast, Room 14 is a sizable longitudinal space leading to a smaller, rectangular room (Room 15) (Fig. 31). Although the entrance to Room 14 was on axis with the main entrance of the matha, movement from Room 14 to Room 15 did not proceed in a linear fashion (as it did from Room 6 to Room 8) but required a turn to the west. The shape of the space within the two rooms, their overall layout, and their position directly off the center of the courtyard seem far more suited for group or congregational activity than for individual worship.

[FIGURE 25 OMITTED]

The last sculpted doorway designates the entrance to Room 11, a small room in the southeast portion of the monastery. More sparsely decorated than the others, this doorway bears images only on the lintel. However, the iconographic program is of particular interest. At the center of the lintel, in the spot most often reserved for an image of a divinity, is an ascetic sage or guru, rendered frontally (Fig. 32). He wears a loincloth and sports the high, matted locks of hair that are often associated with Shiva, and he is accompanied by a disciple, depicted in profile, who clasps his hands together in devotion. The two are differentiated through posture as well as through hierarchic use of scale. Interestingly, their coiffures are similarly dressed in a tripartite manner: the disciple appears to be making himself in the image of his guru. Remnants of what may have been a figure of a second disciple are barely visible to the guru's left. (71) As on the other doorways, the guru is flanked by the goddesses Durga and Sarasvati situated on either side of the lintel.

The program of this door lintel constructs the guru as a liberated embodiment of divinity by placing him in the position normally reserved on temple doorways for an image of an enshrined deity. For example, on the lintel of the entrance to the monastery, the central position was reserved for an image of Shiva dancing, framed on either side by goddesses receiving homage from ascetics. On the door frame of the entrance to Room 11, the guru is flanked immediately by adoring disciples and framed by goddesses at the corners. The iconography of this doorway thus intentionally parallels the main entrance, with the ascetic teacher replacing Shiva as primary object of devotion. (72)

[FIGURE 26 OMITTED]

The difference between Room 11 and the others fronted by sculpted door frames goes beyond details of iconography. Both the physical characteristics of the space of the room and its placement within the monastery are unique. Room 11 is a significantly smaller space than the others, measuring only 7 by 11 feet (2.22 by 3.38 meters). A broken bench protrudes from the south, east, and north walls. This format evokes a room intended to accommodate only a few people at a time, and the iconography of the door frame reinforces the idea of private meetings between the head guru and, at most, two or three other individuals.